Thermaltake Xaser II 6000 Plus Enclosure Review - System Installation

What happens when you take a Chieftec case with the Antec SX1030 design and add aluminum to the mix? You get the Thermaltake Xaser II 6000 enclosure. But good looks and an already solid design aren't all that it has to offer. Come join Mike "Darthtanion" Wright as he takes a look at this very case and finds out if Thermaltake was able to enhance an already excellent enclosure.

Now that we have covered the design of the case, it is time to look at how it handles the installation of the system components and peripherals. After all, we're looking for a new home of our computer so it is important to see how well everything fits into place. Let's start off with the optical drives.

As stated earlier, this case uses a rail system. While I used to be skeptical about this type of drive installation method, I have long since given up on that way of thinking. Rails are by far about the easiest possible way to install your drives. It is a simple matter to attach the rail to the drive while it is sitting in front of you. From there, you just slide it into place until it clicks indicating that it is now locked. There is no more need to open the back side of the case so that you can install the screws on that side.

Next on the list is the installation of the 3.5" drives. Since the drive bays are completely removable, this is a matter of simplicity. Just set the drive in the position that you want it and secure it with the normal screws. Here is what it looks like with a single hard drive in place:

I used the center mounting position in this case since there is just a single hard drive. This will allow the airflow from the mounted fan to blow both above and below the drive. If you are going to run a dual drive setup, then I would recommend using the top and bottom mounting positions. This will still allow for good airflow but will also keep a bit of distance between the drives. To give you an idea of the airflow I'm talking about, let's take a peek from the backside of the drive.

As you can see, we're getting air moving on both sides of the drive and also getting plenty of cool air heading into the central portion of the case as well.

Before we put the removable drive bays back in, let's install the mainboard. The case is large enough that we can work pretty easily within the cavity. Though a removable motherboard tray would have been a nice touch, there shouldn't be too much trouble installing the central nervous system of our toy.

Since the enclosure is an ATX, it will handle any of the modern ATX type motherboards. There are several different holes in the tray to handle standoffs of your favorite board. Just screw the standoffs into the tray and install your board with enough screws to keep it stable.

After the motherboard is in place, it's a simple matter to complete the operation by adding in the peripherals and the power cables and ribbon cables.

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